Smoking is a life-threatening habit, especially if one follows it for the long term. If an individual decides to quit the habit, they can enjoy many health benefits. This includes a lower risk of conditions like emphysema, throat cancer, lung cancer, ulcers and reflux, and heart diseases, among many others. Here are a few practical tips for quitting smoking:

• Find motivation
  One of the foremost tips for quitting smoking is to find the right motivation to do so. Motivation could be either physical, emotional, or both. It could be that one wants to regain their athletic stamina that they lost because of smoking or that they aim to look younger by improving their skin health. It could also be that one wishes to quit smoking because they are seeing their family and friends suffer on account of passive smoking.
• Modify eating habits
  Surprisingly, several foods and beverages increase the craving to take a drag. It could be that one is an after-dinner smoker, or they like to smoke a cigarette while having tea or coffee. Instead, one can swap these beverages with healthy snacks like fruits or instantly get to washing the dishes after a meal to keep the mind occupied.
• Try behavioral counseling
  One’s physical and emotional dependence on smoking makes it difficult to quit the habit. To overcome this dependence, one can seek behavioral counseling and therapy sessions, which have proven to be one of the most effective tips for quitting smoking.
• Keep the mouth and hands engaged
  One’s fingers and mouth are constantly engaged during smoking, so keeping them free can trigger a craving, especially when one has decided to quit the habit. In such cases, one can try Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), which involves medications that have low levels of nicotine that come without carbon monoxide, tar, and other poisonous chemicals.
  Other products that help kick the bud are lozenges, tablets, gums, nasal sprays, and other handheld products like inhalators, as they keep one’s hands occupied. While at a gathering or even while standing, one can hold a glass of water in their hand.
• Other ways
  Another effective tip for quitting smoking is to try delaying getting one’s hands on a cigarette since it is seen that the craving usually disappears in 3-5 minutes. One can also try sipping on water to help them stay away from smoking. Last but not least, taking deep breaths and focusing on the breathing process can calm the mind and help an individual deal with the withdrawal symptoms better.

It can be difficult to quit the habit and stay away from smoking, especially if one has had the habit for years. That being said, understanding the long-term benefits of giving up the habit can provide motivation and help ease the process.